In the world of Evon, there lies seven floating land masses. One of those land masses is dubbed the Cloud Continent, but there is another that’s relatively close to it, yet vastly different in structure. This land is called the Continent of Alysia, and it is not home to cultivators. This continent is home to humans and beasts that don’t draw their power from Qi, but instead from the energy that is born from their bodies from birth and released after death. This substance is recycled endlessly, and with practice, allows one to manipulate the elements as if they were second nature. These people are called Mages, who control a force call mana, and they come in many different forms.
There are Medical Mages, who specialize in healing.
Martial Mages, who use mana to strengthen their martial arts.
Support Mages, who through diligent training learn how to strengthen or weaken their companions or foes.
Holy Mages, who with the blessings of certain gods can purify demon beasts or removes curses from others.
And finally, Battle Mages, who use mana to manipulate their respect magics and fight one another.
There are also different races in Alysia unlike the Cloud Continent, which only holds humans and demon beasts. Elves, Dwarves, Demons, and Avians are all results of mana reacting differently with humans, resulting in the birth of an existence that differed from the norm. As their respective lineage grew, so too did their contempt for normal humans. To combat the growing hatred from the other races and ensure they wouldn’t be so easily bullied, humans created an organization that sends Mages out to complete missions for rewards and raise prestige. This organization is dubbed the Hunter’s Association, and the members of each and every subservient guild… are called Hunters.
One such guild is called the Rising Sun, a guild that excels in dealing with demon extermination missions because of their abundant amount of Holy Mages. The leader of this guild, named Harlow Helsing, had been given a call from Tie Xuan, who used a Cloud Continent native item called the Nether Orb, and sighed. The poor guild master was forced to listen to the old man rant about his Lord Realm corpse being stolen by some slave boy for well over an hour. Though he really couldn’t be paid to give a damn, he could feel Xuan’s pain somewhat. In Alysia, rankings for hunters weren’t the same as in the Cloud Continent, in fact, they were much simpler:
Rankings were determined by mana amount, just like how Realms were determined by the amount of Qi one has. The numerical value ranges from ten to a thousand, and follows as such:
10-100: F-rank Hunter
101-200: D-rank Hunter
201-300: C-rank Hunter
301-400: B-rank Hunter
401-500: B+ rank Hunter
501-600: A-rank Hunter
601-700: A+ rank Hunter
701-800: S-rank Hunter
801-900: SS-rank Hunter
901-1000: SSS-rank Hunter
There were certainly much stronger individuals above the numerical value the Hunter’s Organization provided, but as they were very rare, most were simply placed in the ‘Special Hunter’ rank. The same ranking system worked for threat levels, as well as items or artifacts. All in all, the most of Alysia worked on a very simplistic system, not to mention they didn’t need to cultivate in order to gain power; simple training and diligent practice was enough to raise one’s ranking, but real power fell in what magic one had, as well as magic artifacts or special bloodlines.
A Lord Realm corpse was the same as an SS-rank item, and if he was the one who lost something that precious, Harlow knew he would be just as livid as Xuan.
‘But, as it stands I don’t really care.’ Harlow reminded himself, as he finally spoke in his call with Xuan to end it, as he heard the knocks on his door that were likely from Dr. Julia. “I know, I know, Old Xuan, I feel your pain. Sadly, I have some important business to take care of. I wish you luck in finding that slave boy.”
“Call me back when you get the chance, Helsing, I’ll tell you if I find anything new!” Xuan said.
Harlow hung up and let out a sigh that could blow an ocean away. That old fool Xuan could talk his ear out for decades if he let him. He pushed the thin strands of brown hair away from his light green eyes and raised his voice loud enough for the person behind the door to hear, “You can come in now!”
As he thought, the person who stepped into the room was a woman that wore a light brown coat with a badge on it that read ‘Matteson Science Institute,’ jet-black jeans, and thin, black tinted glasses that matched her auburn hair. She gazed at Harlow’s black and white vest while letting out a light whistle, “Looking extra spiffy today, huh?”
Harlow let out a slight chuckle, “I love your little compliments, but I love research results more, Dr. Julia.”
Dr. Julia, new head of the Matteson Science Institute, put on an exaggerated pouting face as she set down the notepad she held, though it had no significance to what her news to him was. “Alright~ well, the tests on project 002 have been surprisingly steady, but there haven’t been any big changes that make it viable in a normal setting. Still only life-threatening situations. If you would, tell Lord Xuan to send over more “Demonic Qi Pills” as he called them.”
“Will do, what about the ‘Figure’?” Harlow asked, the intrigue on his face was almost impossible to hide.
“Well… that’s what I came here to talk to you about…” Dr. Julia studied the confused expression on Harlow’s face before continuing, “The thing is, the strange creature we discovered on the surface of Evon… has disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Harlow questioned, unlike anger like she expected, pure curiosity was seen on the guild leader’s face.
“Yes… no matter how much we searched with the mana-infused mobile golems we dispatched to the surface, no sight of the creature could be found, sorry to say. Are you sure that no one from the Cloud Continent can go down there to check? I recall their “Cultivators” to be very resilient and have the ability to fly indefinitely.”
Harlow lightly shook his head, “No, only Heaven or Hell Realm cultivators can do such a thing according to Old Xuan. Not only are such cultivators difficult to come across, most are very… ‘Unique’ in character, they act purely based on how they feel and not on the well-being of the Continent as a whole. Most cultivators as a whole are very individualistic, even the alliances are used for the growth of power and take pride in their individual strengths, there are very few that are interested in scientific advancements over there.” The guild leader caressed his chin strap as he pondered, “Still… how interesting… Dr. Julia, keep those golems down there, even if it’s only a month longer.”
Dr. Julia nodded, “That’s simple, but if I can ask… why?”
Harlow spun his chair around and stared at the tranquil city in front of him. The Rising Sun guild was centered in the city of the sun, Illios. Filled to the brim with mages and commoners alike, the citizens went about trading, conversing, laughing with one another under the bright summer sun, surrounded by lush green trees that protected the city. “I just have a feeling…” He answered, “A feeling that… Alysia will undergo a big change soon, and that creature that was found on the surface of Evon will be at the forefront of it all.” He laughed heartily, “I don’t think the Cloud Continent, let alone that Old Xuan, will go unaffected either!”
………………..
August awoke atop a smooth rock, covered in blood and dirt, but most importantly, alive. He felt like shit, his body felt heavier than mountains, and his eyesight couldn’t beat out that of a blind man’s; yet the brutally simple action of breathing and occasional feeling of wind that brushed across his face, the feeling of life that raced across his body made him feel like the happiest man on earth. As his memories came rushing back to him the longer he spent awake, he gradually remembered why he felt so unconditionally joyful at the thought of life.
In the midst of hopelessly fighting against the spirit and earth realm cultivators that ganged up on him without mercy, he felt the presence of three sky realm cultivators nearing at a scary pace. With his body that he had for at most an hour, not to mention the immense excruciating pain that came from fusing with Jin Shou's senior's corpse, fighting a rock would be difficult, let alone countless cultivators that wanted his head. Despite it all, the boy pushed on, be it his scarily dense willpower or intense lust for revenge, his body met every attack with its own. A punch for a punch, a kick for a kick, a blade for a blade, before long, the guards that expected an easy kill could only roll back in shock at the slave’s unbelievable battle prowess.
“He’s only at the 6th stage of the Refinement Realm, how can we not catch him!?” A guard couldn’t help but yell out.
The other guards, and even August himself couldn’t help but think the exact same thing in the middle of the fight. Such a thing was simply unheard of, no matter how peerless a genius was. As time went on however, the closer the three imperious cultivators got to him, August began to understand why he was able to hold off against the guards. It wasn’t because he was some law-defying peerless genius or secretly hiding his high cultivation. No, the guards could estimate his power based on the power of the punches he emitted, but there was no Qi in his body. His dantian was fixed, but they didn’t flow Qi in his body; instead, they felt strange, malleable even. August could feel it, with his new body, he wasn’t bound by the realms like normal cultivators were or even the ranks that Alysia used that his mother told him about. His power could only be roughly estimated, but there was something else to it, something that he had no time to think about.
The shocked boy brought himself back to reality quickly, taking the initiative to kill two guards directly in front of him using a pair of low-grade spirit blades. Crimson flew from the first guard, whose wide eyes full of surprise told of her unsuspected death, while the other barely managed to dodge the deathly blow: a quickly spawned rage built up in the guard that witnessed the companion next to him die so quickly, unfortunately for him and August, his blade managed to tear his spirit bag filled with pills, martial arts books, and elemental artifacts. Like a heaven-sent wrath, the rough mixture of flames and vicious sparks lit up an explosion the size of seven houses. That sent the guards flying in many different directions, though close to the explosion, none except the already dead female guard and the guard next to her took the brunt of the impact.
As for August, he was launched far backward, into the forest and above the gaping height of a waterfall. The height was enough to kill one at the Spirit Realm, even an earth realm cultivator if they weren’t careful or injured enough. For he who stared down into the watery abyss, the boy mentally prepared to mark it as his unfortunate grave. Even with his power, surviving such a height unscathed was impossible. But his body wouldn’t let him die so easily, it crashed into every jagged rock in sight to even slightly slow his descend, he felt the sharp spike of pain that hit him like a jolt of lightning each time he collided with the earthly objects until one about halfway finally knocked him unconscious.
Even though that spur-of-the-moment plan saved his life, August felt somewhat irritated he so willingly followed that pain-inducing plan. Though to be fair, it wasn’t his idea in the first place.
“You should be glad you are not actually crippled after that fall.” The bodiless voice laughed, “I did not exactly have the most confidence in that plan, though I’m elated it worked. The great Asura has saved her host from certain death, as expected from one as prodigious as I!”
Indeed, the voice that racked the inside of August’s head was the disembodied voice of Asura him—or herself. The moment Jin Shou fused August and Asura’s corpse together, she claimed to have had her soul take refuge in his body, as she had been trapped below the 7 floating continents since the moment they rose above the clouds. August expected his conscious to be supressed the moment they fused, but Asura suggested that because neither of them attempted to wrestle for control, it didn't take much for both of them to remain conscious and share the body. The idea wasn't new to the boy, but even then, that was the least of his concerns.
August let out a guttural cough, with a bitter expression stuck on his face. “Be glad I can’t hit you, bastard.” He threatened.
“Hoho, such a feisty attitude!” Asura responded happily, “Well then, have at you!”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
August ignored the jovial beast as she made implied jabbing noises at him. By then he had managed to regain his eyesight, so the young boy sat himself up on the smooth rock and scanned his surroundings. The river had taken him farther south than he thought, which surprised him a great deal. If the Cloud Continent could be seen as a weirdly shaped octagon, then the illusionary forest matched the shape of a triangle whose top point directed itself towards the center of the continent: the Longevity Hall. The Moonlight Sect would be right behind the flat of the forest, to its right, up north: the Raining Swords Sect, and it the left, south where he is: The Void Sect. August located himself somewhere near the very edge of the forest, as he could spot the Void Sect Hall from where he sat. Despite all that, there was one question that swam in August's head after some thinking... how did he end up on the rock if he was dragged through the river?
“I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you talk like an old man with such a… peachy voice?” With the thoughts on his current whereabouts concluded, save for one, August couldn’t help but ask Asura after hearing her speak.
“How rude, is this how you speak to a lady?” Asura responded, she added an air of implied offense that even a child could tell was fake. “After thousands of years away, my… vernacular, is bound to sound different compared to the modern dialect!”
August rolled his eyes, sad that he even bothered to ask her that question, “Whatever, more importantly, I’d like to know more about my dantian. Something didn’t feel right in that fight with the core disciple guards, it felt like I had… no limit, like the realms meant nothing to me.”
“That is because they do not.” She sternly responded, “Take a look at your hand.”
August glanced at his hand, near his knuckles were six small green rings that dimly shone their light, as he took his gaze away from them, they naturally disappeared, as if they were never there to begin with.
“That is your strength relative to normal cultivators, around the 6th stage Refinement Realm. Unlike them, however, you do not gain your strength through pills, fortunate encounters, cultivation, or artifacts. You similarly don’t have any mana, or any magic like Mages. In essence, you are a hybrid demon beast, able to transform into the beast form of those whose beast core you consume; it too is through this, that you grow more powerful. That is my main power as the battle god.”
“Damn it! How am I supposed to go to the Void Sect now?” August cursed, though Asura’s explanation greatly intrigued him, the fact that his powers lie in those beast transformations mean he would be hunted by cultivators simply because they though he was free resources.
“Do not worry, the more you assimilate with certain beasts, the more their abilities are passively added to your human form. With time, you can enter and fight within these sects without concern.” She quickly responded.
“I see, do I have any beast forms right now?” That initial intrigue he had rebounded like a toy ball. The idea of a human transforming into a beast was simply unheard of. There were cases of beasts transforming into humans, but that ability was only available to very powerful beasts—likely Heaven/Hell realm and over—to fully utilize. His desire to test it out greatly overshadowed his concern for the Void Sect.
Asura summoned a book out of seemingly nowhere and placed it in August’s hands. It was a tier 3 martial art: Howl of the Sky Wolf. The art allows one to turn their hands into claws and their voice into a magnificent howl. Once perfected, the technique allows one to form the aura of a sky wolf itself, and command it to ruthlessly attack the opponent.
“I’d love to train it, but I thought things like this were useless to me.” August said
“Put your hand on it and focus.” She vaguely responded.
He followed its command and placed his hand atop the slick blue cover of the art. In an instant, the visage of a tangible, red-tinted wolf ran towards the boy with no sight of stopping. Its light stomping sounds ceased when he got close to August, where it slowly became absorbed by him, as if his body were an unforgiving black hole. The sight startled him greatly, almost enough to send him flying off of the rock he sat on. That initial surprise brought Asura a good amount of pleasure as she continued with her explanation.
“Though beast cores are a method of gaining new forms, finding martial arts with beast essence is also a good bet.” She laughed.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” August clicked his tongue, “So how do I transform, exactly?”
“How else? It’s your power now, your will alone is enough to transform into the more simplistic beasts like this one.” She said, “That said, before you get on with learning more about it, I’d like to know about what I missed in the millennia I was trapped on Evon.”
August nodded willingly, and began to tell Asura of everything he knew about the current state of the Cloud Continent and history that he recalled. He told her of the current powers of the 3 habitable continents: the three legendary beasts, as well as the June Province head, Long Huang; a cultivator at the 5th stage of the Heaven Realm, and one of few peak-level beings that didn’t leave the Cloud Continent after reaching the top. He also spoke of the four forbidden lands that trumped the three continents for centuries:
The first area: Criland, where the ancient evil-banishing sword Kakos rested on its pedestal. Cultivators that neared it quickly lost their Qi and died with little resistance, and the other two continents had no luck in safely reaching the land either.
The second area: The Land of Dragons, beings that descended from the fourth legendary beast Regele. These proud creatures refused the entry of anyone other than their own kind from even nearing the lands. One such incident with a Lord Realm cultivator attempting to enter the forbidden land resulted in a good chunk of Alysia being burned asunder by pure accident.
The third area: The pit, though better known by people as the Worldly Hell. This land is inhabited by the legendary beast Regele himself. It is said that years ago, in order to seal a great darkness that overtook the land of dragons, he stayed on the island to ensure his home’s safety. Over time he lost his sanity, and became a bloodthirsty god that turned the floating island into a land of blood and destruction. The only thing that holds him on that island are the multi-layer seals the three continents placed on it.
The fourth area: The last and final area is… well, no one knows. If the other three forbidden areas were already excruciatingly difficult to reach, then the fourth area is borderline impossible to even get close to. As the land that was the highest above the clouds, it’s impossible to see what the land looks like on the surface. Some relate the land with the 9 heavens, where the gods of cultivation all live, while other continents each have their own theories of what live atop it, the hard fact is no one has the slightest idea of what lies up there. Even the three legendary beasts that were said to have risen the seven continents themselves only know that the lands look like, not what lies up there per say.
“It is our master’s home, most likely.” Asura answered without hesitation, though she spoke with extreme indifference, August could sense a hint of longing from her voice; a somber tone that completely contradicted her light, sweet voice. “Our master was the one who raised us, gave us power, and helped us create the seven continents to answer the ruin of Evon. Though our very existence is thanks to him, none of us know what he looks like, nor what lies atop that land. If I had to guess, though, I would say it is where he lived, and also… where he chose to die.”
“…I see.” August said, his lips stayed shut, as he felt it wasn’t right to interrupt on Asura’s moment of silence.
“I… humans are… quite strange creatures. More tenacious that even bugs, with endless curiosity that allows them to give birth to creatures far beyond their own capabilities. While demon beasts long for superiority and perfection, humans seem… fine with their imperfection, almost content with it. It is like you all find more joy in the process of advancement than the act of achieving it.” She said.
August’s tranquil laugh filled the ambient forest for a brief moment, certainly fascinated by Asura’s rather random evaluation of humans. “I can’t deny that. Truly, humans seem to only be moved by joy and curiosity; that’s just how we were made, I guess.”
“That said, the current Regele and the other three pose an issue… but until you have the strength to handle yourself against them, it is useless to discuss this any further.”
August nodded in agreement, though he had no desire to get himself mixed up in the business of the legendary beasts, he held an inkling that he would be dragged in regardless of how he felt. More than that, he owed Asura, who gave him a chance he would’ve never had otherwise, and like Jin Shou, he paid those he owed back twofold!
The two talked for a while longer about many things, and August gradually learned that Asura was just as curious as the humans she talked about earlier. She took exceptional interest in the more technologically advanced artifacts they made use of; automated items that needed little more than a supply of Qi to activate. When he told her that the Void Sect likely had many of these artifacts at their disposal, the previously somber girl had lit up with joy; if she had a body, August was positive she would be beautifully beaming with elation.
She also took interest in Alysia, despite the little information he could give her. August told her of the Hunters and how they manipulate mana instead of Qi, as well as the concept of Dungeons: mysterious structures that could hold entire worlds inside despite their outer appearance. His mother often told him of the amazing treasures that would lie deep inside these areas, as well as the dangers that came with it.
As Asura reveled in the new information she gained, August decided that he would spend some time in the illusionary forest and collect more beast cores. As a 17-year-old boy with an estimated strength of the 6th stage of Refinement Realm, it was simply too mediocre to gain entry into the void sect, not to mention his ragged clothes that would easily rat him out as a slave.
“First, a disciple whose clothes I can steal. Then, I’ll hunt here for a bit.” He mumbled to himself.
August closed his eyes, and within it appeared the visage of the wolf whom he consumed earlier still. The beast stared at the boy, as if it were pondering something, before willingly bowing its head and once again being absorbed by some strange force around his body. When August opened his eyes once again, he truly did have the body of a sky wolf!
Pure white fur that shone brilliantly in the moon’s light, deep red eyes that gave him an air of imperiousness; forget a sky wolf, though relatively small, August’s current appearance was like that of sky wolf royalty. No just that, the wounds he had in his human form were being healed scarily quickly. Within ten breaths, August was able to jump from the smooth rock he rested on to the edge of the lake supported by the heavy waterfall within moments. His crimson eyes that scanned the forest in front of him were far superior to his normal eyesight, able to catch even the slightest movement within the entire scope of its vision. His nose was probably even better than his eyesight, like an expert cultivator chasing a commoner, he felt like nothing could escape the diligence of his nose. Sadly, August had little way of knowing what smells meant what. Even with his decent knowledge in medicines, the only real smells he could recognize quickly were that of spirit rocks, blood, and herbs.
“Spirit rocks…”
August used his advanced speed to zip through the forest like a blink, completely un-seeable by those under the 4th stage of the Refinement Realm. His nose carried him like a voiceless guide through the many trees and past the unsuspecting demon beasts that went about their night. The strong scent of spirit rocks became increasingly dense, until the white wolf stopped at an open space, where three cultivators stood over the corpse of a few 5th stage Refinement Realm beasts; they were similarly wolf beasts like himself, but grey in color. Based on their grey clothing, they were merely outer disciples of the Void Sect, taking the time at night to hunt for resources before the Inner disciples woke up. Their expressions of joy were impossible to hide as they collected the beast cores and spirit rocks from the lifeless wolf beasts.
“Our luck has been great lately! If we keep this up, I can afford the grade 9 spirit sword and overtake Zhu Duan on the outer disciples’ list!” The long-haired disciple exclaimed.
“It won’t be long before I can advance to the 8th stage Refinement Realm. By then you won’t even need that spirit weapon to deal with that useless trash!” A short haired-disciple laughed.
“Haha! Who told him to be so arrogant? When we three brothers meet him next, he’d better hope we don’t do more than cripple his cultivation!” The similarly short haired disciple added.
The long-haired disciple let out a malicious grin, “Let’s see him act arrogant after we spend a few nights with Fei Mei in his stead, haha!”
The three continued with their malicious intents towards this Zhu Duan character whilst August decided what he would do with them. Since he knew he could at least hold back Spirit Realm cultivators for a bit, killing a few mere Refinement Realm beginners wouldn’t be too difficult for him. That thought was held back with his lack of desire to kill a pair of young cultivators, but like a trigger that was set off, the word “cripple” took away any reservations he had for taking their lives. Within a few breaths, the white wolf rushed towards the weakest of the group, the one who claimed to want to cripple this Zhu Duan, and bit his neck without mercy. By the time the two snapped their heads in his direction, the pure white wolf had been dyed with red from the headless body of the smug cultivator.
Fear enveloped the two that witness their companion’s quick death. Unlike the other realms, the Refinement Realm stages were quite close to one another, meaning that even a 5th stage could win against an 8th stage if they were careful enough. If the wolf they barely caught a glimpse of was capable of tearing a cultivator apart before they could react, it was safe to guess that its power was beyond anything they could hope to handle.
Even without the advanced smell August had, the two cultivators could smell that scent from miles away. It was a scent that hit anyone in this type of situation, a smell that plagued their nose until they wanted to violently vomit. That smell… was the smell of death, and it struck them like a horrid stench that refused to disappear.
“Ah, ahhh!” The short-haired disciple was the first to run away. His feet tore through the ground as he ran with everything he had, but even his best wasn’t enough to escape August’s grasp. The red-tinted wolf dashed towards the exasperated boy and dug his sharp teeth through his nape. With a single motion, he ripped a sizable amount of skin and veins from the back of the boy a spat them out. His gaze didn’t even meet the blood-covered boy as he bled out, as if his existence were akin to ants to him. His icy gaze instead met with the long-haired boy, whose eyes stretched with unadulterated fear as he stared back into the crimson abyss.
“Clothes.” August demanded, though he could speak in his wolf form, his voice was far more guttural and rough, as if he weren’t used to speaking yet.
The long-haired boy unhesitatingly exposed his pale skin to the chilly night winds as he took his clothes off and placed them on the floor, along with the spirit rocks and beast cores he and his now lifeless companions collected during their hunt. After placing his belongings on the ground and stepping back, the long-haired boy fearfully turned back to the blood-coated wolf, like a mere servant staring at their king. “T-there you are, senior sky wolf.” He answered, despite August’s distain towards them, he couldn’t help but commend the boy on his uncanny ability of sucking up to others. As much as he hated it, there certainly was no safer way of ensuring a decent lifestyle in the Cloud Continent.
“I-is there anything else senior sky wolf needs from me? I will do my upmost to ensure that senior sky wolf is satisfied before I take my leave.” He continued.
August nodded slightly, “One.”
The long-haired boy gave him a wry smile, “Well, what might it be, senior sky wolf?”
“Life.” August responded, as he rushed the boy before he noticed and slammed his body into him, almost immediately crushing his skull and sending all three of the outer disciples to the afterlife.
Months later, the outer disciples would be found, brutally mutilated and thoroughly rotten. Aside from one whose clothes other than their outer disciple robe had disappeared, nothing could be determined about their cruel deaths.